UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has announced a plan to spend approximately £300 billion ($397 billion) over the next four years to modernise the country's armed forces.
Starmer, who is expected to step down next month after losing the support of Labour Party MPs, announced on Tuesday that the overall defence budget would increase by £15 billion ($20 billion) over four years to reach approximately £300 billion.
Plan Details
According to a statement from the Ministry of Defence, the plan envisages investing more than £5 billion ($6.6 billion) in unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous systems over the next four years.
Starmer said, "Last year, I made the decision to redirect aid spending to defence in the national interest, and I have delivered the largest increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War." "It was the right choice because the world has changed. National security is economic security. Today, we are further increasing defence spending – we are providing an additional £15 billion by reprioritising spending across government."
Political Turmoil
The plan came after months of debate within Starmer's government. This month, two defence ministers, including Defence Secretary John Healey, resigned over spending proposals. Healey said the plans risked making the UK "less secure."
NATO Summit and Goals
Starmer's announcement came after US President Donald Trump's calls for NATO allies to spend more on defence and reduce dependence on Washington. Starmer will take the plan, which envisages spending about £80 billion ($105.7 billion) per year by 2029, to the NATO summit to be held in Ankara on July 7-8. He wants to send the message that the UK is on track to spend 3.5% of its gross domestic product on defence by 2035.
While his likely successor, Andy Burnham, is expected to take over as early as July 20, Starmer acknowledged that new governments could "evolve" his plan.
Criticism
Critics of the plan, which was delayed by more than nine months, argued that it was too little, too late.
